MERCURY

Mercury is the brilliant album of acoustic and electric whirlwinds from Portland, Ore., guitarist Marisa Anderson. Through its 16 tracks, Anderson unfolds as a master of stylistic swivels, pushing from steady-handed blues staggers to open-road pontifications, from understated ragas to psychedelic meditations with a deliberate quality that belies the record's title. She's a fleet, dexterous picker with a broad sense of what her guitar can do; through all those looks, however, she never discards the melody or the cadence for flashy technique or selfish tangents. (Picthfork.com)